


Eyes of Crimson and Amethyst

by SonoftheJester



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 12:19:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12864384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonoftheJester/pseuds/SonoftheJester
Summary: They say memories make the man, but what happens when there are no memories. A man with no discernible past wakes up in Jump City and starts a life of vigilante justice. At the same time Raven is become more and more withdrawn and hopeless. All of a sudden she begins to have strange dreams that hold a message she can't quite decipher. How will they react to each other?





	1. Are they dreams?

**Chapter 1**

 

We all ponder existence from time to time, the meaning of life and why we are here. Few of us however put thought into who we are, but that isn’t the case of a young man staring at his reflection in a broken mirror leaning against a rusted sheet metal wall. He is tall, around six feet or so with pale skin and long wild black hair. His pale blue pupilless eyes are the only part of his face visible behind a white mask with a red magatama surrounding each eyehole. His attire consists of a long sleeve, high collar dark red shirt, black pants, and black boots. He has a katana strapped to his back and several shuriken and kunai in pouches on his thighs.

 

“ _Ochita Hito, is that my name? It is all that comes to mind when I try to remember my name, so it must be. It just sounds wrong, like it is something other than a name; like it is something more along the lines of a truth. Though my name should be the least of my worries as I can remember nothing about who I am or where I come from. The first thing I can remember is waking up inside that apartment and finding that letter telling me about this world and its society. There wasn’t a single shred of information about me other than I would know what to do.”_ After he had finished reading the letter, Ochita explored the apartment and found all of the current gear he has on him plus an entire room full of weapons and similar clothes to what he is wearing. Other than the weapons room; there are two other rooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen/dining room. The largest room in the apartment is set up as an exercise and workout room, while the other is a very basic bedroom. The bed room has a black dresser, a black desk, and a twin bed with slate gray bedding. The living room is fully furnished, the kitchen fully stocked, and the bathroom has all the essentials. There were also no clues to who had set up the apartment and left the letter, yet another mystery for Ochita to unravel.

 

A flash of lightning and deafening roar of thunder snap Ochita from his musings, after which his attention is turned towards the sound of several people rushing his location; 12 by his count. Removing the katana from its place on his back, Ochita prepares for his targets’ arrival.

 

“ _While I have no memory, there are things that I KNOW. Like that fact that I posses something called chakra and that it is responsible for my ability to produce wind for a variety of uses. I know I am stronger, faster, and more durable than the average human in this world. I know that by channeling a small bit of chakra into my eyes they change and grant me additional abilities. Those being greatly increased perception, the ability to learn things just by watching them preformed, and the ability to paralyze people through eye contact.”_ Ochita sees he was correct in his count, as 12 people round a corner and enter the large room he is in. Nine of them are armed with melee weapons ranging from baseball bats to machetes. The other three are carrying guns; two have pistols and the third a shotgun. “ _The one with the shotgun poses the biggest danger, while I can easily dodge bullets, if he gets in a lucky shot while I’m distracted with the other, I’m fucked. Even with my fast healing a shotgun deals massive damage. I recognize the guy in the skinny jeans, he escaped my last attack. He is a Metahuman with the classification of speedster”_

 

Not wanting to take any chances he channels chakra into his eyes and takes a battle stance. The large man at the front of the group starts to talk in an aggressive tone.

 

“All right cocksucker, you fixin’ ta bleed slow for killing so many of my boys. We gonna fuck you up so bad you will beg for death. You won’t be able to pull any of your sneaky ninja shit now that we right in front o’ you. When we done with yo-” He is cut off abruptly as a kunai buries itself into his throat. As he drops to the floor with blood gushing from the wound the rest of the group lose sight of Ochita as he bursts forwards at the shotgun wielding thug. The only one able to follow his movements is the speedster in the skinny jeans, but he reacts too slow as by the time he has reached his ally’s position, the blade has already separated his head from his shoulders.

 

His blisteringly fast, yet sloppy right hook is dodged by Ochita leaning back just out of his reach, luckily for the speedster he is able to zip away from the counter slash aimed at his throat. By this time the rest of the group has regained their senses and explode in to violent roars of anger at the death of two more of their friends. The two remaining gun wielding thugs open fire on their target, forcing Ochita to go on the defensive and weave through their gunfire. This distraction is capitalized on by three of the thugs closest to Ochita, as the moment the gunfire subsides so the thugs can reload, the three bum rush Ochita in blind fury. Two have bats and the third has brass knuckles on each hand. The two with bats swing wildly while the third slips around to attack from behind; their plan fails quickly as Ochita lashes out with a horizontal slash and cuts the bats in half. He follows this up with a power hook kick to the side of the brass knuckle thug’s head. He can feel the thug’s skull give way under his foot.

 

 

Before the two in front of him can regain their guard, Ochita rushes in and plunges the sword into the heart of the thug on the left, then turns to the right and slams his left hand into the remaining thug’s chest. The force of the hit throws the thug 15 feet away; hitting the wall he slides down it and leaves a wide streak of blood. Sensing the speedster trying to blitz him again Ochita counters with a flawless hip toss, with the impact causing the speedster to cough up a good bit of blood; before the speedster can react Ochita slams his foot into the speedsters left knee. The scream of pain causes the six thugs left to back away in fear. Four of them try to flee, only for Ochita to swing his right are in a horizontal motion, releasing a sharp wave of compressed air that slices the four in half. The final two raise their machetes and rush Ochita while yelling at the top of their lungs, as they approach Ochita weaves a few hand signs and a dozen six inch long spiraling lances of wind appear above him. Flicking his hand forward the wind lances tear the last two thugs to shreds, as they crumple to the ground in bloody heaps Ochita turns his attention to the crippled speedster.

 

“Your choice is as follows, tell me where your gang’s base is located and what the defenses are or I will gut you and leave you to bleed out alone and afraid.” He says in a disturbingly upbeat tone. As he approaches the speedster he pulls his sword form the heart of the deceased thug.

 

“W-w-why are you doing this?” The terrified speedster asks the monster that is now standing over him. His breath catches in his throat as his tormentor cocks his head to the side, then crouches down.

 

“Since you didn’t answer my question I am technically obligated to gut you and leave you to die.” At his words the speedster’s heart skips a beat. “Lucky for you though I have nobody to talk to, so you will have do for now. As for why, isn’t it obvious; you guys are criminals. Pretty bad ones at that, you sell drugs exclusively to middle and high school, which is rather shitty.”

 

“Y-yea, but that isn’t my choice. This shit pays extremely well and my little brother is in the hospital. His medical bills are to much for any normal job I could get, so please spare me, please I’m all he has.” The speedster begs tears starting to form in his eyes.

 

“I doubt I could ever be a hero, as I kill my enemies and that is the opposite of how heroes behave, but you see I don’t kill because I want to. I kill cause I’m hungry, hungry for the thrill of battle; it is a need for me, just as eating is for you. It’s a need I haven’t learned to suppress, nor do I plan on learning to doing so. The pure exhilaration I get from fighting is indescribable, though you couldn’t see it just now as I am focused while in combat. Make no mistake though, on the inside I was burning with excitement. Now you may be wondering why I’m telling you this, the answer is simple; to explain that killing is not my motivator, battle is. As such I believe we can strike a deal. You tell me what I want to know and use your connections to gather Intel on the other gangs in Jump and I’ll let you live. Hell, I’ll throw in half of the money I find at the base; acceptable?” with that Ochita holds out his hand, which the speedster grasps after a few moments of consideration.

 

“My name is David, by the way. I go by the name, Silver Streak though.” He says while motioning to his silver hoodie. “For clear reasons.”

 

“I am Ochita. Let me fix your leg real quick.” He says as he positions his hands over, David’s knee. He allows chakra to flow through is body and into David’s knee, which results in a soft golden light to permeate from his hands. David is instantly hit with a sense of warmth and comfort as he feels his knee begin to mend back to its natural state. Seeing the look of awe and confusion on David’s face, Ochita chuckles. “I have many talents, not all are for killing and destroying. Your leg is fixed, once you give me the information I need, I would suggest you stay at the hospital until you hear about the massacre of your former gang on the news.”

 

“Yea, I will. Umm, the base is and abandoned marina on the other side of the city, you’ll be able to tell it’s the right on by all the spot light like installations at the entrance. As for defenses, those installations are actually sonic cannons, very good at disabling a person; with the eight mounted at the entrance, they could take down a mob of around fifty or so. Other than that there are six guard dogs and two mounted guns on top of the old fishing shop at the back, which is now the bosses main HQ. You’ve already killed a good majority of the gang, with new recruits I’d say there’s only about 14 people left. Watch out for the boss though, he’s called typhoon for a reason, his Metahuman ability is Hydrokinesis and he’s surrounded by water.”

 

“He shouldn’t be a problem if I face him alone and stay cautious. Thanks for the information, now go; I have to prepare.” Not needing to be told twice David speeds away leaving Ochita to his thoughts.

 

“ _I’ll need more than blades for this, time to try out some of those bombs I saw in the weapons room. The best plan is the quietly and quickly take out the dogs, and then destroy the mounted guns. I’ll probably use bombs for that and destroy a few other things while I’m at it. That with gather the grunts to a smaller area and serve as a good distraction, then I’ll need to take out whoever is left. After that I can confront the big boss and his Hydrokinetic ability._ ” Ochita adopts a wild grin at the thought of the up coming battle.

 

**With Raven**

Floating in lotus position above her bed, Raven tries to meditate; though she finds it to be a nearly impossible task with all the recent events flying through her mind. Firstly there was the whole Beast Boy confessing his feelings to her, feelings which she rejected. She sees him as nothing more than an annoying little brother figure. In the two weeks that followed he has become rather aggressive and rude towards her, insulting her on a near daily basis and ignore her presence otherwise. The second thing that happened is Robin deciding to expand the Titans roster; they had dropped the teen part due to both Cyborg and Starfire being 20. This decision was due the recent rise in gang violence as well as a rather large swell in Metahuman activity in Jump City.

 

The issue at the forefront of Raven’s thoughts is the new vigilante that has made Jump their home. Though the vigilante has racked up an impressive body count of 74 while only being active for three weeks, there is next to no information on him; Robin was only able to find out three things about him. He is in fact a male, he wears a white mask with some form of red markings, and the local gangs are calling him the Crimson Eyed Demon. The CED is very good at what he is doing and according to Robin and the crime scene photos, he is highly trained. Every attack is delivered with the intent to kill of cripple. Of all the massive amount of blood present at the crime scene DNA shows he has yet to be made to bleed. On top if that he has killed groups as large as 25 people, with Metahumans mixed in. While he only targets criminals his is still a killer and Robin insists they take him down; though Raven secretly agrees with his methods. While she does believe killing is a terrible thing, she also knows some people are incapable of changing. With a sigh she finally gives up on trying to get meditation done.

 

Getting off her bed, Raven walks over to her mirror and takes in her appearance. Although she is 17 she is only 5’2 and has a pale grey complexion. Her amethyst eyes are just a few shades lighter than her hair and the red chakra in the center of her forehead stands out with its vibrant color and slight glow. She has a curvy figure with 42DD breast, round hips, and decently full legs. Her waist is pretty slim and her stomach is flat and slightly toned; all in all she is the shining example of the impossible body standards girls’ today face, all due to her demonic heritage. While she is sure her face is what could be considered pretty, her odd skin color tends to unsettle people so she rarely ever receives any compliments from fans or even villains; unlike Starfire who gets a little too much attention from both genders, be they fan, hero, or villain. While she isn’t jealous of her friend, she does wish that someone would treat her like a girl rather than a freak. While Beast Boy did confess to her, Raven felt it was more out of the emotion turmoil of losing Terra than genuine feelings. Fighting off a pang of sadness and longing, Raven strips down on gets into bed. Wishing for a night of restful sleep, she drifts off to the thought of being fully accepted.

 

Raven’s dream is the oddest she has had in a while all she could see is a pair of crimson eyes with a black eight point star around the pupil. In the background she hears half of a fragmented conversation. Though she could truly make out the voice, she understood the words.

 

_“You see beauty, I see pain. You see what can be, I see what is. You see hope, I see truth…”_

_“…Violence is better than a gold standard… it is universally understood… law without violence is merely a suggestion…”_

_“Learn to love the sword or someone else will…”_

_“As a child I heard voices; some sang, some screamed…I couldn’t pull my gaze away… the fire called to me…”_

_“Sometimes to save, you must destroy…”_

Her strange dream is abruptly ended when the alarm goes off, signaling a crime that needs the Titans. Grumpily rolling out of bed, Raven gets dressed and heads to the main room that serves as both the common room and command room. Arriving she sees she is the last to get there and neither Robin nor Cyborg look at ease.

 

“CED has struck again, and it’s gruesome.” With that the team departs to the latest slaughter committed by Jump’s newest demon.


	2. A Fated Meeting

**Chapter 2**

Standing just inside of his weapons room, Ochita contemplates how one can know something but not remember it. He knows that the scrolls, brushes, and ink are used to make seals; yet he can’t remember learning about them. He knows the proper way to handle a shuriken and how to throw four in each hand with deadly accuracy; but he can’t remember so much as ever holding one. Shaking the thoughts away he starts gathering supplies for his upcoming mission.

 

“ _Explosive tags will be the biggest part of the initial attack, I have two types; timed and triggered. The timed ones explode after three seconds, while the triggered ones are set off by surging my chakra. I’ll need significantly more triggered than timed explosive seals, so I’ll take 30 triggered and 10 timed. Additionally I’ll bring my katana, several smoke bombs, and a fuma shuriken. As for my kunai and normal shuriken, those will be subject to an experiment. If what is in my head is accurate then I should be able to use charka to etch a seal into any surface at any time; so now to find out if knowing how is more important than remembering how.”_

Ochita begins by repeatedly drawing a storage seal, memorizing every detail and nuance. After nearly an hour of this he begins trying to place the seal on a sheet of paper using chakra. His first few attempts result in explosions of various sizes and intensities; even after the 13th explosion he refuses to give up on his endeavor. Half an hour of failure and swearing later he manages to place the seal on the paper. Ever the realist though, he tests the seal before celebrating. A good choice on his part as the seal fails to respond to his chakra, causing him to sigh in exasperation. Pouring more and more chakra into the seal eventually causes it to yet again explode. At this Ochita’s ire finally gets the best of him as he flings the table into the ceiling of the weapons room; after which he silently thanks the gods that this room is reinforced and on the top floor of the building. Taking a deep breath he exits the room and heads to the training room to blow off some steam.

 

**With Raven**

Raven let’s out a long sigh as she finally enters her room. She has spent the last 13 hours dealing with the fallout of CED’s latest attack and has no time to meditate since last night’s failed attempt. Walking towards her bed, she strips off her uniform and grabs an oversized long sleeve shirt. Pulling it over her head, she decides to read a book to calm her mind. Walking over to one of her many bookshelves she grabs a random book and sits on the bench built into the window. After reading the first few pages she stops and looks at the cover of the book. **_Alternate Nights: a guide to dream based visions_**.

 

“ _Really?_ ” She thinks. “ _How appropriate, to randomly choose a book about dream based visions after that weird dream last night. It’s almost like fate is trying to say something._ ”

 

After reading the first six chapters she is convinced that she is right; her dream matched all the points of dream-visions the book laid out. She was confident in the authenticity of the words due to this particular book being older that the first pyramids and of non-human origin. According to the person she acquired the book for it is of Fae creation. With life spans that can’t be measured and magic ability approaching the Divine, anything spoken by the highly reclusive Fae is to be viewed as fact. Raven counts her blessings that she managed to learn to read the Fae language while she was still in Azarath. The revelation that her dreams are actually visions comes as both a shock and an odd comfort; she feels some connection to the subject of the visions.

 

Reading further she learns the visions she had are not traditional visions of the future, which the Fae call _Coming Pastures_. Rather they are what the Fae refer to as _Roots of Self_ ; visions that show glimpses of an individual’s past that help shaped the person they are today. _Roots of Self_ allow one to view that most important pieces of a persons past, as to help understand how their current self can to be and how to save them if needed.

 

“ _Save them. That is a common theme in Fae culture; saving and purifying. The Fae are the race most connected to nature and natural order, so most of their beliefs and practices revolve around universal balance. So I wander who this person is, it sounds like they have a very firm stance on existence and what truth is. It also sounded like they have darkness in them, though that damn alarm woke me before I could hear anymore. Maybe I’ll see more Roots of Self the next time I sleep._ ” With that thought in mind, Raven looks at the clock and sees it’s nearly noon. “ _Fuck it, I’ll try to sleep for an hour or so, and then head to the bookshop._ ”

 

Her dream is different this time, instead of eyes; she is staring at a large open field illuminated but the bright moon in a starless sky. A field littered with dead bodies and stained in so much blood there are literal streams of it flowing about. In the middle of this unspeakable carnage is a man, he is standing with his back to her. Much to her dismay the man is distorted like the voice from the last dream; while she can see a there is a person all of his details are obscured. Upon looking closer she sees the man is breathing hard and holding a katana in his right hand; with the tip of the blade facing the ground. She also sees the blood running along the weapon. Her attention is drawn away by the sound of another distorted man approaching from her left; said man looks around before speaking in a nearly identifiable voice.

 

 _“Is this what you call ‘achieving peace’?”_ The other man turns around at the sound of the newcomer’s voice. Raven is shocked to see the same red eyes from the last dream. When the red eyed man opened his mouth the sound that came forth was deep and guttural, like the crack and boom of thunder.

 

**_“I call it progress.”_ **

****

_“Slaughtering all these people is progress? How is this progress?”_ The yell is full of despair and anger.”

 

**_“The next ones won’t be so quick to fight.”_ **

****

_“Dear brother, have you lost sight of the truth so easily?”_

**_“What truth have I lost sight of? The truth you preach is nothing more than pretty, hollow words. You speak of peace, yet do nothing to secure it. All of your talk and kindness will do nothing when someone refuses to accept your terms. I seek true peace and that is only obtainable with violence to back your words. If you continue to get in my way I will consider you a threat to the peace of our world.”_ **

****

_“Would you really cast away your soul for this madness?”_

**_“Would you really choose your soul over our world’s peace?”_ **

 

Raven’s eyes snap open from the overwhelming amount of determination rolling off the red eyed man. In that moment she understood how for he would go to complete his goal, he was ready to cast off his soul to save his world. Whether or not his methods are right, she can’t help but feel respect and admiration for someone willing to go to such lengths for what they believe in. Sliding off her bed, Raven heads to her bathroom to take a shower before heading out for the day.

 

**With Ochita**

Nine hours, it took him nine hours but he finally perfected placing seals with chakra. After his fifth successful try he etched three seals onto each of his palms; they are placed in an inverted triangle pattern. One is for kunai, one for shuriken, and the third is for general use. The first two seals hold 50 kunai and shuriken apiece and he currently has his fuma shuriken in the extra left seal.

 

With his experiment successfully completed, Ochita decides to head for the marina that the so called Water Dragons have been using for a base. It only takes him fifteen minutes to reach it and he can tell they are on alert; the entire place is lit up. Looking at it from the front he starts to piece together his plan of attack. After circling the marina a few times he finalizes his plan.

 

“ _True to David’s word there are 12 people, ten are outside and two are in the old shop in the back. There are two people guarding the gate and one on each mounted gun, all six of the dogs and five of the thugs are guarding the shop. The other three are standing near the old fueling station. I’ll put money on there being fuel left, so that would make a rather nice target for an explosion. I’ll plant ten triggered tags there, two on each mounted gun, and three on each of the two escape boats. After I detonate the tags the surviving thugs should all converge on a central location, so I’ll put the last ten around that area. This part is too easy.”_

**With Raven**

As Raven makes her way to her favorite bookshop her mind drifts to earlier when she told the team she was heading out. Robin told her to be careful as usual, Starfire wished her ‘much of the good times’, Cyborg made a joke about her sneaking out to see her secret boyfriend, and Beast Boy laughed at Cyborg in an arrogant way saying that no one would ever date her. She can’t say it didn’t hurt, but also couldn’t say it was untrue. Other than Beast Boy, nobody has ever been interested in dating her. Hell, she is mostly ignored by the fans, press, and other heroes on a daily basis. Ever since the events of her sixteenth birthday and her heritage got out, she was treated differently; with fear and loathing at the worst and indifference at best. Her mind then wandered to thoughts of the red eyes man. He intrigued her; violent and seemingly unhinged, yet calm and sure of himself.

 

As the bookshop comes into view, Raven’s world is rocked by a massive explosion. Looking towards it, she realizes it came from the direction of the old marina; the base of operations for a new gang calling themselves ‘The Water Dragons’. The name supposedly stems from the leader’s ‘name’; which is Satis, the Goddess of the Niles floods. While her instincts screamed for her to act, her training rooted her into place to wait for Robin to contact her. Rushing blindly into danger alone is foolish and risky. Not even a minute passes and she sees a massive wave at least a hundred feet high surge into the air. As it begins to crash down a powerful torrent of wind collides with it, stalling its movement long enough for it to die out. The moment she sees a tornado form, Raven abandons her training and takes to the sky. It takes her about three minutes to reach the scene of the elemental warzone and in that time the wind and water have completely died down.

 

Upon arriving at the focal point of the confrontation, Raven sees a tall man with long black hair holding an unconscious girl with short blonde hair by the collar of her hoodie. The mask on his face confirms his identity as CED. Her eyes fall on the katana in his free hand, which is being raised level with the girl’s heart.

 

“NO!” Raven yells before the CED can finish off his opponent. While this girl is clearly the head of the Water Dragons, as indicated by the wet clothes of the CED and her dryness, she still doesn’t want to watch someone die right in front of her. She begins to second guess her choice when the CED turns his gaze to her. As he tilts his head to the side, she sees his red eyes and her heart skips a beat. Only after a full five seconds did she realize these eyes lack the eight point stars around the pupil, they instead have three tomoe; although the katana is identical to the one the man in the second dream had.

 

“You look familiar.” The words are smooth and rich like warm honey; the sound sends a shiver down Raven’s spine. “Ah that’s it; you’re Raven of the Titans. You know, you’re far too beautiful to keep your face hidden under that hood. Not to say your uniform doesn’t look good on you, you just look more natural in those skinny jeans and odd stomach-less shirt.”

 

His words cause Raven to suddenly remember she is in civilian clothes and not her hero uniform; never before has she felt so… naked. Even though CED’s eyes are scanning every inch of her, she doesn’t feel unnerved by his gaze; if anything she feels an electric tingle throughout her body. As an empath she has direct knowledge of what people are feeling and what she feels from him is approval and excitement. There isn’t a hint of lust or ill-will, something she is unaccustomed to. As while nobody has ever shown interest in a relationship with her, she has a desirable figure and men are typically guided my hormones and instinct more so than logic.

 

“If you know who I am then you know I can’t let you kill that girl, regardless of her criminal status.” She replies in what she hopes is an authoritative voice. The chuckle she garners in response destroys those hopes.

 

“Come now Karasu-Hime, why would I dance with _this_ when I have you here?” He asks while releasing his captive. Before Raven can speak or react CED in standing in front of her; he is leaning forward so his mask is mere inches from her face. “Those are some captivating eyes you have Karasu-Hime.”

 

Raven’s ashen skin lights up with blush, and an unfamiliar heat spreads through her body. Staring into CED’s eyes seems to cause the world to cease in its existence and much to her dismay his eyes snap to the entrance of the marina.

 

“It appears your friends are here.” She has to turn around to see the entrance and sure enough she can make out the rest of the Titans approaching. When she turns back, CED is no where to be seen.

 

The team’s arrival and Robin’s subsequent questioning all passes in a blur of color and sound, as Raven is still transfixed on the eyes that looked at her like she was normal; no not normal, they looked at her like she was exquisite. Soon enough she found herself back in her room getting ready to sleep again. As she goes to pull her communicator out of her pocket, her hand touches something metal; pulling it out reveals a kunai. CED must have slipped it in her pocket when she looked away. Forgetting to disrobe, she lies on her bed and drifts off while staring at the weapon. That night there were no visions but she didn’t mind, the dreams of an impossible future were more than enough.


	3. A Proper Introduction

**Chapter Three**

Ochita finds himself attacking the mu ren zhuang, or wooden man, in his training room for the third time today. The news of his massacre has only just been aired on the news, so it’ll probably be a few more hours until David leaves the hospital. He has a couple of homeless people around the city keeping an eye out on certain things, so he’ll know the moment David leaves. With a growl Ochita delivers a powerful blow to one of the mu ren zhuang’s arms, snapping it off.

 

“ _Fuck, this is complete shit. I need a distraction. Hmmm, there is a bookshop near here I could visit._ ” He thinks as he heads to the master bath to take a quick shower. The fact that his ‘name’ actually means ‘the one who fell’ was a strange discovery. “ _I’ll need a real name first. There is that book I read yesterday, The tale of a savior: Wallachia’s Demon. It’s about a man named Vlad Tepes and his bloody quest to free his people. There’s also Alexander the Great, a man whose ambition knew no bounds. Vlad Alexander, it has a nice ring to it.”_

After finishing his shower the newly christened Vlad Alexander got dressed; his outfit consisting of a tight charcoal grey long sleeve that is tucked into slim fitting black jeans, black boots, and a black belt with a silver moon kanji belt buckle. Looking in the mirror he deactivates his eyes for the first time since the other night. Pleased with his appearance he heads out.

 

**With Raven**

Yet another day has come and yet again it has been quiet, it seems that while killing a good bit of people, CED’s presence in the city has actually lessened super-crime. While a welcome change of pace to not have to fight super powered everyday, dealing with small time crooks and gangs is tedious work. With her patrol over, Raven decided to spend the day in her favorite bookshop finishing the book on dream-visions. She is fond of this place due to it also having a small kitchen that makes tea, coffee, sandwiches, and small desserts. She currently sitting in the rear of the shop at the most secluded table with a cup of oolong tea and a slice of red velvet cake. As she turns the page to start the final ‘chapter’, as the book is organized into collection of similar concepts separated by illustrations, she is interrupted by the sound of the chair across from her being moved. Looking up from her book she sees a man sitting across from her.

 

Raven is thankful that the book is covering most of her face from view and that her new tablemate is reading a book himself, as she can feel the blush cover her face. The man is incredibly handsome, with features that can only be described as royal. His skin is pale and his eyes are unique in both color and appearance. His eyes are surrounded with dark markings and his eyebrows are cut short, similar to ancient eastern royalty. His long black hair is wild and looks incredibly soft. While he is what would be considered to be beautiful for a man, he still had a strong, powerful look about him. His clothes while not overly tight showed off his lean but muscular frame; he looked to be built a little bigger than Nightwing. With her eyes traveling across his body Raven fails to notice he has set is book down and is looking at her with a toothy grin. Upon noticing, her blush manages to deepen as his alluring smile reveals pearly white teeth and elongated canine teeth.

 

“If you keep staring so intensely I might blush too.” He says in an all too familiar voice. Raven’s eyes snap to his and her jaw drops. “It’s good to see you again Karasu-Hime, do you like what you see?”

 

Raven mindlessly nods her head, caught in a rapid storm of thoughts. She is vaguely aware of CED picking his book back up and resuming his reading.

 

“ _Why is he here, showing me his face? What is his goal? Does he intend to throw me off and try to gain information about the Titans? How can a criminal be so damn attractive? Wait, what am I thinking he’s the enemy I can’t be attracted to him. Why are his eyes different than before?_ ” All these questions and many more race through her mind as she tries to process what is happening. She needs to take advantage of this opportunity. Yes she will do just that, try to get as much information out of him as she can.

 

“D-did you really mean what you said last night?” She is shocked that the question flew out of her mouth on its own. Se wanted to ask about his motives and plans but her mouth had other ideas.

 

“About what?” He replies while setting his book down for a second time.

 

“About me being b-beautiful?” Damn it why is she stuttering and why is her heart going crazy?

 

“Of course I did, you are absolutely entrancing in your beauty. No person or aspect of nature comes close to you.” She is once again shocked as she senses nothing but truth coming off of him.

 

“Even with my odd skin color and heritage?” She asks with no small trace of fear in her heart, knowing that being reminded of her demonic blood will make him change his attitude towards her.

 

“That’s right, I totally for got about you being part demon. Who cares, you’re the only demon I’ve ever met so as far as I know demon are just a bunch of misunderstood people. As for your skin, I think it is delightful.” He informs her, his smile somehow growing larger.

 

“B-but demons are e-evil, how can you even stand being near one?” She implores with sorrow saturating her tone. At this CED’s eyes narrow and his smile turns into a near snarl.

 

“Evil does not help others, evil does not protect the helpless, evil is not self-loathing, evil doesn’t doubt itself. You aren’t evil; you are a normal girl with shitty circumstances.” The anger in his voice and conviction behind his words cause her heart to stop beating momentarily. “Is that why you sit back here so far from the rest of the patrons? Is it choice or do they ostracize you with glares and whispers; if so I will be more than happy to inflict unholy hell upon them.”

 

Raven notices his hands clenched so tight his already pale knuckles are even whiter, without thinking she reaches over and places her small hand on his larger one. When he relaxes a bit she whispers a confused ‘why’, to which he lets out a sad chuckle.

 

“My very first memory is waking up in an apartment three weeks ago. I have no memories before that moment, I don’t even remember my name; I actually chose my new one today, it’s Vlad Alexander. After waking up I found a rather long note, it was 22 pages long. It told me I have been transported to a different universe, detailed the workings of this one, it told me about heroes and villains, and gave me a lot of useful information. There was noting about me however, the only two mentions of me were at the beginning and at the end, which said I’d know what to do. I did, you see I know a lot of things but have no memory of learning or doing them.”

 

“I knew I could fight and that I could eliminate the criminals around here. I knew how to start my mission, how to gather information, how to interrogate my enemy. I knew how to use weapons I can’t remember ever seeing before. I knew how to use powers I don’t remember getting. Every so often new knowledge will pop into my head, but it’s not the same as remembering. There is never any context to my new knowledge; it’s like reading facts from a book that I’ve never seen before. I can use the knowledge but I can’t connect to it. When I here you talk like that and hear the pain in your voice, I know that I hate the destruction of beauty and mistreatment of the misunderstood. It makes the hunger for violence and destruction rage inside of me.”

 

Raven just stares at him for several minutes before a tear rolls down her right cheek. This man, who has no memory of himself or his life, feels anger for her. Anger enough to harm people whose only crime is ignorance and misguided hate. If only he wasn’t a killer. She could ask him to stop but she doubts it will help.

 

“Thank you.” Is all she can muster up the will to say. He places his free hand on top of hers and looks her in the eyes.

 

“You’re welcome Karasu-Hime, now I am going to take my leave. I suggest you head back to your tower and change, for in an hour the Titans will clash with the Crimson Eyed Demon.” Her eyes go wide and she starts to speak, but is cut off by Vlad patting her hand. “Don’t worry; fight like normal and everything will be fine.”

 

With that he gets up and exits the building. Sitting in stunned silence for a few minutes, Raven builds her resolve and then teleports to her room. She will allow herself to trust that Vlad knows what he is doing, and that he can take a full assault from the Titans.

 

**The Pizza Corner**

The Pizza Corner is now Jump City’s most famous landmark, thanks to it being the favorite public hangout of the Titans. It is normally filled with happy people enjoying good pizza and a friendly environment, but today is different as standing in the middle of the outdoor patio is the infamous Crimson Eyed Demon. He is shouting threats of violence and mayhem if the Titans don’t come and face him. It doesn’t take long for his demands to be met as the Titans arrive via Raven’s teleportation mere minutes after the chaos starts. As Robin steps forward the others get ready for a fight and for her credit Raven isn’t showing any of the inner turmoil she is facing.

 

“What is this? You’ve never openly attacked anywhere before and you make sure to avoid us. Why suddenly attack our favorite pizza place in broad daylight and openly challenge us” Robin demands in a lighthearted but serious tone.

 

“I never actually attacked anyone.” Is Vlad’s response, his posture shifting into a more relaxed position. He then waves at Raven, causing her blood to run cold. “Hello again Karasu-Hime.”

 

This causes all of the other Titans to adopt confused expressions and turn to face Raven, who looks like a deer in headlights. Cyborg is the first to react.

 

“Why they hell are you callin’ Raven that and what do you mean ‘again’?” He questions, his protective nature clear in his voice.

 

“That is between the beautiful bird and I. Now let us dance.” With that he vanishes in a burst of speed and catches Cyborg in the jaw with a powerful punch that pushes him back a few feet; immediately the rest of the Titans spring into action. Robin extends his staff, Starfire charges her hands with energy, Beast Boy turns into a tiger, and Raven summons magic around her hands.

 

Beast Boy pounces at Vlad while Robin circles around him to strike when he is off balance. Robin’s plan is thrown out the window when Vlad knocks Beast Boy to the side with a spinning heel kick to the head, followed by a powerful leap towards Starfire. She manages to dodge the punch and counter with one of her own. The hit lands on the right side of Vlad’s ribcage and he can feel a few of them crack under the force. As he soars through the air he is forced to twist his body mid-flight to avoid a blast from a recovered Cyborg’s arm cannon. Landing on the ground, he barley manages to lift his arms in time to stop a powerful swing of Robin’s staff. Quicker than Robin can react to, Vlad grips the staff and thrusts the end into the head of a charging Beast Boy, now a ram. Continuing his attack, Vlad uses the staff to sweep Robin’s feet out from under him.

 

His momentum is crushes by Starfire flying into him, tackling him off the patio; the force of her colliding with him followed by slamming into the concrete 20 feet down cause his recently healed ribs to re-crack. Getting up he rolls out of the way of Robin’s drop attack and come to a stand in front of Cyborg. Blocking a right hook he spits a mouthful of blood into Cyborg’s face and slams a chakra enhanced front kick it his chest. Smashing through the wall into the restaurant, he can be heard yelling about the ‘disgusting’ attack.

 

Spinning around and releasing three shuriken from each seal, Vlad hurls them at a charging Robin who is forced to stop his attack to deflect the deadly projectiles. At this moment Raven decides to join the battle by throwing several pieces of the building at Vlad. In a flicker of movement he vanishes from sight and reappears ten feet behind a confused Starfire.

 

“Star behind you.” Raven yells to her friend, but it is too late. As she turns around Vlad finishes his hand signs and takes a deep breath. He then pounds a fist into his stomach and releases a powerful ball of compressed air from his mouth. In less than a second the balls slams into Starfire sending her flying backwards faster than Raven can follow. Raven is shocked at he power of the attack, not only did it rip through the concrete six feet below it, when it exploded on contact with Starfire she felt the force despite being at least 20 feet away. An explosion of green energy shakes the ground and Starfire comes rocketing out of the hole in the building at twice the speed she went in at and slams both fists into Vlad’s lower chest. Blood flies out of his mouth has he is propelled 50 feet from his previous spot. The Titans regroup as he struggles to stand. Robin has a few cuts on his arms from the shuriken he couldn’t block, Cyborg managed to wipe all the blood off his face, Starfire is bleeding from the mouth and her uniform is torn in a few places, and Beast Boy was sporting a nasty headache but they all look better than Vlad at the moment. He is struggling to breathe properly and blood is seeping out of his mouth and nose. The Titans are taken aback and slightly disturbed as he begins to let out a hearty laugh,

 

“Oh god, this is so much more fun than all those weaklings I’ve been fighting. Give me more. I have more things to play with.” He says while tapping a finger against the side of his head, only Raven knowing the meaning. Weaving a few hand signs he releases a massive torrent of intense flames, causing the Titan to scatter.

 

As Robin escapes the reach of the flames he is met with a side kick to the stomach followed by a knee to the face. As he stumbles back he sees a beam of blue energy force Vlad to leap back, which opens him up to a car smashing into his left side. As he skids across the ground the forms a set of hand seals and proceed to release a massive wave of air that both launches him into the air and knock back Starfire. As he descends Beast Boy in the form of a pterodactyl slams his head into Vlad’s stomach. Now tumbling towards the ground Vlad is unable to avoid the combined attack of Cyborg and Starfire, the resulting explosion sends him crashing into the ground.

 

As the dust settles the Titans see that he is heavily injured, with cuts and bruises all over him. His clothes are torn up and the portion of his mask covering his left eye has broken off. Once again he laughs and once again the Titans are disturbed. What they don’t see is the images flooding his head.

 

“Now then, let’s see just what this can do.” He says to himself. The air becomes saturated with power as blue energy begins to erupt from Vlad. As the energy pours out faster the ground beneath him begins to crack and two ethereal dragons sprout out of the shroud of energy.

 

The speed at which the dragons strike is far too great for the Titans to evade, so they brace themselves best they can. The force of the attack knocks them in various directions. As they recover one of the dragons charges Starfire while the other strikes at Raven and Cyborg. Starfire manages to catch her attacker as it goes to devour her and throw it to the side, while Raven halts hers with a barrier. Starfire, Robin, and gorilla form Beast Boy all attack Vlad in a coordinated assault, which he manages to fend off with his newly increased speed and strength.

 

The Titans are tiring out when Vlad disengages without warning. The moment he is out of range of the Titans, his shroud and dragons disperse while he drops to a knee; his breathing labored and ragged. Judging by his breathing and the sweat pouring out of him, Robin would guess he used too much energy with that last ability. Regardless they now have an opportunity to arrest a dangerous vigilante. As they approach him he lets out one more laugh before speaking.

 

“Thank for the dance, it was entertaining and informative.” With that he slams several smoke bombs into the ground and vanishes before the smoke clears. With him now gone the Titans take a moment to catch their breath before all eyes fall on Raven.

 

“You have something you wanna tell us?” Cyborg asks for the team.

 

“ _Fuck, this won’t be pleasant. I’m going to make him pay for this._ ” Raven thinks as she teleports the team back home. She is in for a long night and quite frankly has no idea what she is going to say.


	4. Additions

**Chapter Four**

Raven is pacing around her room, stand and sitting; occasionally stopping to fiddle with something. She can’t seem to relax even a bit. After lying to her team about the meaning of Vlad’s words, assuring them he was referring to their conversation at the marina, she locked herself in her room for the rest of the day. That was three days ago and she hasn’t seen Vlad at the bookshop nor has there been any of his normal activity. He just seems to have disappeared. Though she has only known him less than a week, Raven finds that the thought of him possibly being dead drives her to a near panic attack; and she can’t figure out why. Letting out a frustrated growl she walks over to her dresser and picks up her mirror; within moments she is transported into her mindscape.

 

Upon arriving she finds that all of her emotions are gathered in one spot already. Good because she won’t need to track them down, bad because them being gather on their own has only happened once before; a week before her sixteenth birthday. She looks at all of her emotions before addressing Wisdom.

 

“Why am I so worried about him? He is our enemy and I barely know him.” She pleads with the ever logical side of herself. Before she can receive an answer however, Happy hops in front of her and smiles brightly.

 

“He makes us happy, he accepts you for who you are. Why wouldn’t you worry about him silly?” Happy says in her usual energetic voice.

 

“She’s right, Vlad knows of our heritage and yet he still treats you like a normal girl. He has complimented you multiple times and is sincere when he does.” Wisdom finishes for the spaced out Happy. Raven then turns to Love to get her view on this.

 

“We don’t love him, not yet at least. The seed of love is there, but you need to get to know him better before it blossoms. Never the less, you care about him. He sees you as a normal girl despite all the evidence to the contrary. If he is alive and well, I strongly suggest you try to get to know him better and see where it leads.” At this all the emotions nod in agreement and Raven decides to follow their advice. Closing her eyes she feels herself leave Nevermore, once back in her room she sets the mirror down and heads to her closet to put on some normal clothes.

 

Her outfit consists of a purple and black lace bra under a black leather half-jacket, ripped up grey skinny jeans tucked into black gothic style combat boots, a black choker, and a silver ankh earring in her right ear. Looking at her reflection in the full body mirror in her closet, Raven actually thinks she looks good. The jacket shows a nice amount of cleavage without being slutty and the pants show off her shapely legs and plump yet firm ass. She smiles, as she can practically hear Vlad’s praise and flattery; this also causes a stab of pain in her heart, but she ignores it and continues to believe in him. Grabbing her communicator, which is basically an advanced smart phone, she calls Starfire. After a few moments Star’s face shows up on the display.

 

“Friend Raven, what can I do for you on the most glorious day?” She asks in her typical friendly tone, a sweet smile on her beautiful face. Raven can’t help but smile at the sight of her eternally happy friend.

 

“Hey Star, I’m about to head to the bookshop until we are supposed to meet up.” She tells her friend. The team is meeting in the common room at noon for some unknown reason; all Robin said this morning was it is a mandatory team meeting. “I’m just letting someone know where I’ll be.”

 

“Would it be acceptable for me to join you? I just bought a book and would like to start reading it. Plus we haven’t spent any of the girl time together lately.” She asks with hope in her voice. Raven had hoped to see Vlad at the bookshop but doubts she will, so why not have company today?

 

“Of course it’s acceptable Star, come to my room and I’ll teleport us to the alley next to the shop.” Starfire nods her head happily and ends the call. She arrives moments later. She is wearing a dark purple long sleeve shirt, black skinny jeans, and purple hi-top Chuck Taylors. Smiling at her friend, Raven grabs Starfire’s hand and teleports them away.

 

**With Vlad**

Placing a few pairs of clothes in a duffle bag Vlad sighs and shakes his head. It looks like that powerful new ability is not one he’ll frequently use. The amount of chakra it consumed and the speed it consumed it were ridiculous. He nearly died after managing to make it back to his apartment. If he is to use it again he needs to make sure he isn’t nearly as injured as he was last time, as a large chunk of the chakra expended went into healing his injuries. Picking up his broken mask, he sighs again. Lucky for him when he contacted David this morning he was pointed to a man in Gotham that deals in high end equipment for people with less than legal occupations. David even managed to secure him transport to and from Gotham. Sparing his life is turning out to be a massive boon for Vlad. With the bag packed for his trip, Vlad gets dressed in basically the same thing he was wearing three days ago, only the shirt is crimson in color. He heads towards the bookshop, deciding to see of Raven is there as he has another hour before he needs to meet with the person transporting him.

 

Entering the shop and heading to the back he sees Raven isn’t alone today, Starfire is with her. They are both engrossed in their books and don’t notice him approach their table. Smiling, he silently sets his duffle bag into one of the chairs and takes a seat in the other. He stares at Raven’s face, basking in her beauty, until she takes notice of someone looking at her. She looks up and her eyes light up upon seeing him.

 

“Vlad!” She exclaims, causing Starfire to look up from her book as well. Starfire looks confused as the two stare at each other.

 

“How are you?” He asks, a smile forming on his face. Once again his smile causes her to blush, something Starfire picks up on.

 

“I-I’m fine, how are you.” She asks, attempting to keep her voice a neutral as possible, so Starfire doesn’t start to suspect anything.

 

“A bit sad actually. I haven’t seen your beautiful face or talked to you in a few days and I’m about to leave the city for a couple of days. Whatever shall I do?” He asks the last part in an overly dramatic fashion.

 

At this point while she doesn’t know what is going on, Starfire knows for sure that her friend has a crush on this Vlad person. So she decides to interject into their conversation.

 

“You could give him your number friend Raven.” This causes Vlad’s smile to increase in size.

 

“That’s a marvelous idea, that way I can get in touch with you whenever I miss you.” He pronounces as he pulls out his phone; another thing he found in the apartment. After a moment of hesitation, Raven takes the phone and puts her number in it. After she hands it back, Vlad turns to Starfire. “Hello there, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Vlad Alexander, I hope we get along.”

 

“I am Starfire; it is nice to meet you also. How do you know friend Raven?” Starfire asks with a pleasant smile on her face, both Vlad and Raven can tell the question isn’t holding veiled meaning.

 

“Well, I came here one day and recognized her from being a Titan, so I decide to introduce myself and we’ve talked some since then. I just can’t get enough of her company, she is a delightful person.” None of what he said was a lie; the first part was at best a bending of the truth. Raven looks at the time on her phone and grabs her book.

 

“Sorry Vlad we have to cut this short, we have a Titan meeting to get to.” She says glad to be able to pull Starfire away form him before something slips.

 

“It’s fine my dear, I have to get going soon myself. I’ll text you later, maybe give you a call tonight so I can hear your voice before I fall asleep.” She smiles and nods in answer before teleporting Starfire and herself away. Standing up, Vlad chuckles while stretching; leaving the shop he heads to the rendezvous spot to wait.

 

**With the Titans**

“Alright guys, while I did call this team meeting I won’t be the one leading it.” Robin announces to the confusion of the rest to the Titans. Their confusion is answered soon enough however as the door to the common room slides open to reveal three people. The first is Nightwing, the other male is tall and dark-skinned with buzz cut blonde hair, the girl is only an inch taller than Raven with long blonde hair and blue eyes; she also has surprising muscle definition for a female.

 

“How’s it going Tim?” Nightwing asks as the trio walks into the room.

 

“I’m good Dick, you?”

 

“Can’t complain.” He replies while shrugging his shoulders slightly.

 

“And Father?”

 

“The same as always, broody and closed off; he’s driving Babs nuts with his latest obsession. Apparently someone is orchestrating a massive gang war between Black Mask, Bane, Cobblepot, and Joker. The whole family’s been on two hours of sleep a night for a month. Hell, after this I’m heading to Gotham until whatever is happening blows over. Anyway; this is Kaldur’ahm AKA Aqualad and Cassandra Sandsmark AKA Wonder Girl.” Nightwing walks over to Robin and embraces him in a tight hug. “It’s good to see you little brother, but I gotta go. I’ll stop by when I’m done in Gotham.”

 

With that Nightwing takes his leave and everyone present looks at Robin with questions in their eyes. He lets out a sigh.

 

“Looks like I will be leading this meeting after all. So, as I mentioned before I want to expand the team. Kaldur and Cassie here jumped at the opportunity the moment I made the announcement. So they’ll be joining us as Titans, let’s all get along.”

 

The seven young heroes look around at each other unsure of what to do. Beast Boy is the one to break the silence.

 

“So what do you guys do?” Aqualad answers first.

 

“I’m an Atlantean and as such my physical attributes are much higher than a normal human’s. I was also top of my class in Atlantean sorcery and can freely manipulate water and my own bio-electricity.” He demonstrates his abilities using is water bearers to create water swords and channels electricity through them. Once he’s finished Cassie starts talking.

 

“I am actually a demigod so I possess superhuman physical attributes and can fly. I also have a lasso like Wonder Woman, though mine has the power of lightning instead of truth.” She removes the lasso from around her waist and shows off its powers a bit.

 

Raven is less interested in the lasso and more in the fact that she is lying about the origin of her powers. When she said being a demigod gives her the superhuman attributes deceit rolled off of her and when she talked about the powers them self there was a feeling of shame and sadness radiating from her. She knows those feelings well and decides to pull Cassie to the side later and offer to listen to whatever is hurting her.

 

The rest of the day and night are spent getting to know the new members and by the time they finish it’s too late to talk to Cassie. Once inside her room Raven pulls her clothes off and stretches, before heading to her bed she checks her phone and sees a text from Vlad.

 

**_I hope you like the memento._** -Vlad

****

With a raised eyebrow wonders what he is talking about as she walks to her bed. Looking up from her phone she sees what he means, on her bed is a black box with a dark purple ribbon tied in a bow around it. Setting her phone on her pillow she sits down and lifts up the box. It doesn’t have much weight to it and there are no markings anywhere. How was he able to get it into her room, the tower has top notch security. Dismissing the question, as she probably doesn’t actually want to know the answer, she gently slides the ribbon off the box and removes the lid; her lips part in a full smile. Lying at the top of the box is Vlad’s broken mask. Picking it up she admires the craftsmanship, it is beautifully made. Placing it next to her she picks up the shirt Vlad wore the first day he showed up at the bookshop. Pulling it to her nose she inhales deeply and is hit by the scent cinnamon, jasmine, and fresh rain; it is the most interesting thing she has ever smelled before. Slipping the shirt over her head, she picks up her phone to respond.

 

**_I do. Why give me your mask?_** -Raven

 

She wonders how long it will take for him to reply and is surprised to get his response seconds after hers.

 

**_I no longer need it. I’m getting a new one._** -Vlad

 

**_Where?_** -Raven

 

**_Gotham_** ** _. Don’t worry I’ll only be gone a couple of days._** -Vlad

 

**_Why would I be worried?_** -Raven

 

**_Because you’re such a sweet and caring girl. Good night Karasu-Hime._** -Vlad

****

**_Goodnight Vlad._** -Raven

 

With that raven curls up and falls asleep with Vlad’s scent filling her with comfort.

 

 

**With Vlad**

Looking at his phone Vlad smile under the cover of his hood; sliding his phone into his pocket he knocks on the door in front of him. At the sound of the lock disengaging he pulls the door open and steps inside. Walking down the long dark corridor he starts to imagine what this ‘Ryzer’ will look like. He has never dealt with a high tech arms dealer before and has no idea what to expect. Soon enough a dull electric glow begin to illuminate the far end of the corridor, a few moments later he enter a large room filled with a multitude of workbenches and computer screens.

 

“Ah, so you are the infamous Crimson Eyed Demon? Nice to meet you, I’m called Ryzer. Whatcha need?” Ryzer is tall and thinly built with shaggy black hair. His eyes are hidden behind golden lenses that appear to be built into his face. He is wearing a leather jacket, black jeans, and motorcycle boots. His left hand is black, gold, and mechanical.

 

“I need a few things. Firstly a mask that won’t break and some armor.” Vlad informs Ryzer, who hums and motions for Vlad to take a seat at an empty workbench. At the push of a button a holographic display pops up.

 

“So what kind of specifics do you have in mind?” Ryzer asks. “There are few limits other than time that I have. Vlad smiles and begins to list of what he needs.

 

“The mask needs to be unbreakable and a filtration system would be a plus, though I want the mask to be as slim and form fitting as possible.” Ryzer nods his head as he jots down notes. “The armor needs to be light weight, easily able to be concealed. Blunt force, piercing, and energy protection are more important than cutting and explosive resistance. Though I need it to not interfere with the energy I use for my abilities, which is unique to me if that helps. Other than that you know this stuff better than me, so you may add anything you think will help so long as it isn’t something that will be a detriment if it is missing or not working.”

 

“You said you have a unique source of energy, is it possible for you to like summon some or whatever so I can scan it?” Vlad raises his right hand and forms a ball of chakra. Ryzer spends about three minutes taking various scanners to it. “Alright, I got what I need. If you want you can use the room through the door behind me to sleep or whatever, I’ll have everything done tomorrow night”

 

“What of payment?” Vlad asks as he stands up. Ryzer waves a hand.

 

“I have a job for you to do, but it isn’t until tomorrow night. This gang war was good for business in the beginning, but money is seemingly running short and some people thought they could steal from me. Once I give you your mask and armor you’ll send a message for me.”

 

“The targets?”

 

“Tomorrow Black Mask, Bane, and Cobblepot will be sending their forces to secure a shipping container, the Bat will show up to stop them. I want you to make sure that neither Black Mask’s or Bane’s men succeed. Outside of that I don’t care what the outcome is.” Vlad nods and goes to turn but stops.

 

“You have any information I can go over regarding the targets and their forces?” Ryzer gets up and heads over to a computer and types for a moment.

 

“I sent what I have to the computer in the room.” Vlad nods and enters said room. Walking over to the computer he begins to familiarize himself with his new enemies.


	5. Payment Complete

**Chapter Five**

Having spent the rest of the previous night studying the files on each group and memorizing the layout of the area an abandoned mall/entertainment plaza, Vlad spent the day sleeping. When he awoke it was just after ten at night. Exiting his temporary room, he walks over to Ryzer. Upon seeing Vlad is awake, Ryzer’s mouth breaks into a huge grin.

 

“Ah, Vlad good to see your up and about. I just finished your gear not ten minutes ago. Come and see.” They walk over to the workbench for last night and Vlad sees a mask, a black long sleeve tactical shirt, black pants, black boots, and a red high collar haori lying in a row.

 

“Allow me to explain the features of each piece of your outfit. The mask is made from tungsten carbide with a layer of graphene on both the inside and outside of the mask; it is also painted to resemble your old mask. The haori, shirt, and pants are made from a triple weave consisting of carbon nanotubes, boron nitride nanotubes that have been treated to alter their radiation shielding to protect for most forms of energy, and a synthetic fiber that disperses up to 67% of kinetic impact; the amount dispersed increases as the amount of force applied increases. The boots are composed of a synthetic material similar to the one used in the rest of the clothes only it goes up to 74% and the soles also have an impact absorbing gel in them that adds a 19% impact reduction; meaning you’ll be able to survive a fall for extreme heights as long as you land on your feet. Go put them on and tell me what you think.”

 

Vlad grabs his new outfit and heads back to the side room. He is surprised how comfortable the clothes are. Looking in the mirror he nods in approval. Turning a bit he sees there are nine white magatama in a circle on the back of the haori; a nice touch. Heading back to the main room he thanks Ryzer.

 

“Ryzer, these clothes and the mask are amazing. You did a marvelous job on everything; I especially like the magatama on the back. Ill definitely come back if I ever need anything else.” The praise and promise of repeat business make Ryzer smile.

 

“I’ll be more than happy to help you out whenever you need it. Now it’s about time you head out to complete your payment. I won’t need you to bring any form of proof; I have means of finding out on my own.” Ryzer says looking at the clock on a random computer.

 

“I’ll head out then; I’ll be leaving when the job is over. It was a pleasure to meet you.” With that they shake hands and Vlad departs.

 

**With Raven**

Stepping out of the shower, Raven thinks back to the day’s training. It was the first time the team was seeing its new members in action. Aqualad was impressive. While he is much stronger than Robin, Beast Boy and herself; he isn’t all that strong compared to people with actual super strength, test revealed him to be able to lift two and a half tons. His ability to manipulate water and bioelectricity is top notch; he can create weapons of water or attack with powerful torrents of it. He is also very skilled in martial combat, being only slightly below Robin’s level. Wonder Girl on the other hand is on par with Starfire in physical ability and her lasso is strong enough to injure Starfire and short circuit Cyborg. She is however lacking in actual fighting skill, as she relies mainly on overwhelming her opponent.

 

Walking to her bed she grabs her phone and texts Robin to find out if there are any other plans for the day, when he responds with telling her that she has the rest of the day off she slips on Vlad’s shirt and heads to her desk. She takes out a sketch pad and some pencils. With the supplies out all she has to do is figure out what to draw. After a few minutes she knows exactly what to draw.

 

It takes her a couple hours to get the drawing right, but when she does she smiles at her success. Closing the sketch book and putting in the top drawer of her desk, she stands up and walks over to her phone. Checking the time reveals it to only be 5:30 in the evening. Deciding to go ahead and confront Cassie she calls her.

 

“Oh, hey Raven, do you need something?” She asks in a friendly but confused tone.

 

“Would you please come to my room, there is something I wish to discuss with you.” Raven’s request causes Cassie’s face to reflect her growing confusion.

 

“S-sure, I’ll be there in a minute.” After hanging up it only takes her a few moments to reach Raven’s door. She is taken back slightly when the door opens as she steps up to it. Walking in she sees Raven sitting cross-legged on her bed wearing what is clearly a man’s shirt and black leggings. She sits on the bed across for Raven at the girl’s prompting. “”So what did you-”

 

“I know you’re lying about your powers. I’m an empath so there is no use in trying to deny it.” Raven says interrupting Cassie’s question, this causes Cassie to become wide eyed and filled with worry. “You are already aware of the origin of my powers, so you can rest assured that I am the last person that will judge you. I just want to know the truth and see if I can help you in any way.”

 

Cassie sits there staring at her legs and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt for nearly five minutes before looking at Raven; her eyes filled with hesitation and sadness.

 

“It is silly really. I am really a demigod, but I didn’t get any power or the like from my father. My current powers are derived from a suit of alien armor, called the Silent Armor that bonded with me. It is normally hidden but will manifest if necessary, a very painful process. The reason I lied is because I didn’t ask for this power and because I used it selfishly when I first got it. I ended up hurting a few people on accident because I wasn’t used to my new strength.” She finishes the story with tears forming in her eyes.

 

Raven can understand where she is coming from as her circumstances aren’t that much different. Seeing the tears begin to fall, Raven slides herself across the bed and pulls Cassie’s head onto her breast; the same thing Starfire did for her every night for a month after the incident with Malchior. She holds Cassie and strokes her hair for nearly an hour before the crying stops. She sits up and wipes her eyes while giving Raven a small smile.

 

“Thank you, I needed that.” Raven just nods her head. “That shirt smells wonderful; speaking of which, what’s the story with it?”

 

Smiling and thinking of her interactions with Vlad, she decides to tell Cassie about him. Granted she will leave certain things out.

 

**With Vlad**

Arriving at the abandoned construction project Vlad heads for the large square tower in the northeast corner of the failed development, figuring it is most likely to house his current targets. Once he reaches it he channels chakra into his hands and feet, and begins to scale the building. He finds his targets in the uppermost floor and silently sneaks in through the window on the left side, as it is obstructed from view by a large stack of boxes. He then proceeds to scale the wall and stand upside down on the ceiling. Looking down at the three gather in the room he smirks under his mask.

 

“The plan is as follows: Robins is in charge of the south of the area, as his small frame and agile movement is better suited for the mostly completed shopping area. Batgirl is to take the western side and I’ll take the east. The north is completely empty and flat so the gangs will avoid it as much as possible; it will also be the breach point for the GCPD and SWAT teams.” Batman’s voice seems to be distorted by something hidden in his cowl. “The goal here is to take down as many of the enemies as we can before the police breach; we need to eliminate their causalities as much as possible.”

 

“What of the shipping container? Keeping the gangs from their target is equally as important as lessening police deaths.” The short Robin asks, prompting Batgirl to agree with him.

“The intel we gathered suggests that the gangs won’t show up for another 45 minutes, I will use some of that time to use the Batwing to move the container to the roof of the administration building below us. Once that is complete the two of you will place electrical charges on the inside of the door.” His two protégés nod in acceptance of this plan. The three are immediately thrown on guard at the sound of a laugh echoing throughout the room.

 

“That is a rather weak plan. You’re assuming they won’t all congregate on one area and overwhelm whichever one of you is there before the other can come to the rescue. I expected more of the legendary Batman.” The three look up having pinpointed the location of the voice and are surprised to see a man standing on the ceiling. Upon seeing the mask Batman knows who their mystery guest is.

 

“What is the Crimson Eyed Demon of Jump City doing in Gotham?” Batman demands in an aggressive and dangerous voice.

 

“I had some personal things to do, things which led me here.” Vlad respond in a casual voice. At the same time he stops the chakra flow to his feet and flips as he falls. He lands a few feet in front of Batman.

 

“What are you doing here? Why reveal yourself to us?” These questions come out more curious than aggressive. While Batman relaxes a bit, Robin slowly moves for his Batarangs.

 

“I’m doing a favor for a friend and wanted to tell you three to stay out of my way. I have no intention of fighting any of you, provided you leave me to my task.” He answers Batman’s question in a pleasant and friendly tone, but Batman can read the threat behind the pretty words.

 

This man gives off a particular vibe, one he is most familiar with. It’s the same vibe people like Deathstroke and Ra's al Ghul give off; the sense of a predator moments away from striking at it’s prey. While he can tell the man is dangerous and he knows he means to kill all the criminals in his path, Batman knows he means what he says. He has already decided to allow the man to operate, taking on a person who can single handedly match the Titans isn’t something they can risk in this situation.

 

As Batman processes his answer and figures out what to do, Vlad pulls out his phone and sees a text from Raven.

 

 ** _What are you doing?_** -Raven

 

 ** _About to work_** -Vlad

 

 ** _Does that mean what I think it does?_** -Raven

 

 ** _It does. The men of Black Mask, Bane, and Penguin are about to converge on a singular location. I plan to accelerate the death rate._** -Vlad

 

 ** _You shouldn’t keep killing, it’ll only make you more of a target for heroes._** -Raven

 

 ** _Please be careful, I want to see you again.­_** -Raven

 

 ** _Don’t worry Karasu-Hime, I plan on seeing you tomorrow. Have to go._** -Vlad

 

The moment Vlad sends the text he pulls out his katana and spins around, lashing out with the blade; four pieces of metal hit the ground.

 

“That wasn’t very nice Robin.” He chides. “I’m trying to be peaceful here.”

 

Robin tries to respond but is cut off by his father.

 

“Enough Robin, we don’t need another enemy.” He looks Vlad in the eye. “Don’t think this means I won’t take you down later.”

 

“You won’t, I’m leaving Gotham after this and I doubt you’ll follow me to Jump.” The response is laced with mirth. “Better get started with moving the shipping container.”

 

With that Vlad makes his way to a window and jumps through it. Falling nine floors and landing on his feet, Vlad feels nothing; a testament to the boots ability. In a burst of speed he makes his way to the center of the area and leaps to the top of what was meant to be an information building and sits in lotus position to wait.

 

The wait is only fifteen minutes, as a mass of people storm the constriction zone from the east, south, and west. Dropping of the roof and taking to the shadows, Vlad travels to the west side of the construction zone. After a few minutes he sees a group of men in suits carrying assault rifles; there are a total of six. Sticking to the shadows he circles around them and waits for them to spread apart slightly, as soon as they do, he strikes. Darting out he cuts down the three in nearest to him before any of them realize he’s there. As the other three turn to face him, he delivers a quick, clean slash to each of their throats. Before their bodies hit the ground he is already rushing in the direction they came from.

 

As he approaches the next group, consisting of four, the sound of gunfire on the other side of the unfinished mall draws their gaze in his direction. They open fire before he can reach them, forcing him to weave through the hail of bullets. As he dodges he flings his katana into the heart of the man on the left and begins forming hand signs. Fifteen feet from them, the thugs are forced to reload. At the same time Vlad finishes his hand signs and release a large ball of fire that explodes on impact. Three burning bodies are thrown away from the center of the explosion. Grabbing his sword Vlad looks off in the distance to see Batgirl fighting a group of seven; and she is kicking their ass with ease. Seeing that she has things covered here, he turns and sprints to the area being patrolled by Robin. Reaching it he sees a group of penguin’s men engaged in a fire fight with a group of Bane’s soldiers. Sheathing his katana and summoning three kunai in each hand he prepares to attack. The moment there’s a lull in gun fire he leaps into the air between the two groups and launches the kunai into the skulls of all of the masked soldiers. He lands as he forms the final hand sign and spins a round. Exhaling, he fires a dozen air bullets at Penguin’s men; one manages to survive the attack. He tries to drag himself away but is halted as Vlad thrusts his katanas blade into the thug’s lower spine. Turning he runs off towards the sound of gunfire.

 

Slowing down as he nears a corner, Vlad stops and peers around it to see Robin nimbly flipping and dodging the attacks of the soldiers around him, while simultaneously landing his own attacks. It takes him mere minutes to take out nine armed enemies. Robin’s head snaps at the side at the sound of clapping. Vlad steps around the corner and stops clapping.

 

“Impressive for one so young, you’ll end up surpassing Batman one day if you keep it up.” Robin frowns at the compliment.

 

“I don’t need compliments from a criminal, you’re lucky father said not to kick your ass.” This causes Vlad to chuckle, which in turn causes Robin’s frown to deepen. “What are you laughing at?”

 

In a flicker Vlad vanishes from sight and reappears behind Robin, their backs facing. Robin goes to move but stops when he feels a blade gently press against his lower spine. His breath shallows as he thinks of a way out; before he can formulate a plan the blade moves away from his spine. He turns around and scowls.

 

“I could kill with relative ease; you need to get more experience with fighting people with much higher physical stats. I wasn’t near my top speed and you couldn’t react, learn a bit of modesty or you’ll die due to arrogance.” Vlad turns and starts to walk away.

 

“I will kick your ass one day criminal, mark my words.” Robins yells to Vlad’s retreating form.

 

After a few minutes of wander around and a couple dozen more kills, Vlad bumps into Batgirl; quite literally in fact.

 

“Well if it isn’t the lady bat. Weren’t you over there?” Vlad asks pointing to the west.

 

“Weren’t you?” She counters with a rather joking tone. Vlad just shrugs and begins to walk next to her as she leaves. “Are you following me?”

 

“I am indeed.” He replies plainly.

 

“Why?” He shrugs once more.

 

“I see a girl in the middle of a small warzone; I feel I should walk her to her destination.” He receives a snort in response.

 

“What a gentleman you are.” Her voice is dripping with sarcasm. He tsks and stops walking.

 

“Fine then, I shall depart and slaughter more people.” He leaves her no chance to reply, as he leaps to the top of an unfinished wall and hops down to the other side. She hears gunfire and then silence. “Five more dead.”

 

After announcing his kill count he rushes to the administration building to see what’s going on there. He stops about 20 yards short as about forty of Bane’s soldiers are blocking his path. 50 or so feet behind them he can see Batman fighting Bane. Bane is moving much faster than his frame should allow and Batman is keeping pace with him. The soldiers in the front point their guns at Vlad and demand he turn around and leave. Instead he slowly forms a few hand signs and creates a tornado in the center of the group. He follows this up by forming a few more hand signs and expelling a stream of fire from his mouth into the tornado, causing it to ignite into a roaring whirlwind of flaming death.

 

Deciding his work is done when he sees a bunch of cops in the distance he turns to see the shocked faces of Robin and Batgirl.

 

“Later kiddies.” Is all he says before vanishing in a flicker once more.

 

**With Raven**

Checking her phone Raven sees it is just after two in the morning and she sighs. She hasn’t slept at all tonight; she’s been too worried about Vlad. Sure he was able to fight off the Titans, but if three gangs were going to war with each other he could easily be killed by a stray bullet or get swarmed by more people than he can handle; and he hasn’t texted her since last night. Getting up she puts teleports herself to the kitchen and makes some tea. She hopes it will help calm her enough to sleep, since tomorrow is her day for patrol. She chose to walk back to her room to give the tea some time to cool off. As she walks, she gets lost in thought and barely notices when she enters her room. She walks over to the window bench and sits down.

 

“ _I wonder if Vlad is ok. He sounded so sure when he said I’d see him tomorrow, but so much could go wrong. I wonder why he wants to see me. Maybe he wants to tease me some more or maybe he wants to confess his feelings. No, there’s no way he has real feelings for me, it’s probably just some weird interest that lead to a crush.”_ She shakes her head and sips her tea.

 

“There’s no way someone like Vlad could love me.” She says with sadness and longing in her voice.

 

“Why not?”

 

Raven nearly throws her cup in fright, her head snapping to her bed. There lying on his side and staring at her was Vlad. She can’t believe it, he’s in her room and he’s on her bed. Her mind wanders to less than appropriate things, causing a massive blush to spread across her face.

 

“Are you having lewd thoughts Karasu-Hime? Are they about me?” She feels amusement and surprisingly, hope coming off of him. She stutters a bit before closing her mouth and setting her cup down. “Well too bad, none of that until we get to know each other better.”

 

With that he gets off the bed and walks over to her. She lets out a small yelp as he lifts her up princess style and carries her to the bed. He sets her down softly and takes a seat next to her.

 

“Let’s get to know one another.” He says with a lovely smile, causing Raven’s heart to speed up.

 

“ _It’s going to be another long night, but it’s going to be a good one._ ” Raven thinks as Vlad starts asking her questions.


	6. Progress and Plans

**Chapter Six**

Last night was a rather informative night; both Raven and Vlad learned a lot about each other. Raven was pleased to find that while Vlad still remembered nothing, he knew things about himself; granted she learned nothing of his past, but she still learned important things. She learned his favorite color was purple, which was the first thing that drew him to her. She learned that he is three years older than her, though with him being 20 and her 17 things will difficult if they ever start dating as her friends are very protective. She learned he named his katana Tsuki no Handan, or Moon’s Judgment. Most importantly however, she learned that while he kills without a moment’s hesitation, he is kind and gentle. She is now sure even without consulting her emotions that she is in love with him and can only hope he feels the same.

 

Vlad also learned a lot about Raven. He learned about her home dimension of Azarath and how her powers are tied to her emotions. He learned she loved reading and meditating. How she was often judged by her appearance and heritage. She told him the circumstances of her birth and who her father is. She let him read some of her poetry and see her drawings. He learned she is just a lonely girl that wants to be loved and accepted. He wondered if he should tell her his feelings but by the time he had decided, Raven was fast asleep. So he did the only logical thing and stripped down to his boxers to join her.

 

The next morning Vlad is awakened by the hiss of Raven’s does sliding open, but keeps his eyes closed. He hears a person step into the room and the door close behind them, all while keeping up the ruse of sleep. The person takes a few steps towards the bed before accidentally kicking one of his discarded boots, causing Raven to shoot up into a sitting position.

 

“Mmm, Cassie what are you doing.” Raven asks still half asleep, she notices the look on Cassie’s face and that she’s looking past Raven. Looking behind her, Raven sees what Cassie is staring at and begins to panic.

 

“So this is the Vlad guy you told me about?” Cassie asks with no short supply of humor in her voice. “He’s as sexy as you said. So did you guys do anything?”

 

The question causes Ravens face to go red and her eyes to shoot open. She can’t believe Cassie just asked that, she is extremely embarrassed and still worried.

 

“Not yet.” The sudden appearance of Vlad’s voice startles both girls, who thought he was asleep. “Not that Karasu-Hime wasn’t thinking about it last night”

 

Raven nearly explodes at Vlad’s comment, causing him to let out a melodious laugh. He sits up and stretches, giving the girls a nice view of his well muscled frame and causing them both to blush at the sight. He gets up and grabs a bag from beside the bed, pulling out some clothes he gets dressed. Cassie walks over to him and sticks her hand out, which Vlad grasps and they shake.

 

“I’m Cassandra Sandsmark or Wonder Girl to the public, nice to meet you Vald” She says in a cheerful tone with a smile on her face; a smile that Vlad returns.

 

“The pleasure is all my Cassandra; any friend of Karasu-Hime is a friend of mine.” Cassie’s face twists in confusion at the nickname for Raven.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“Karasu means raven and Hime is an honorific that basically means princess.” His answer causes Cassie to smirk a bit.

 

“Now don’t forget you have to meet Cyborg for patrol today _Princess_.” Cassie says the last word in a teasing voice and turns back to Vlad. “I have to go, I’m due for training but hope we see each other again. I want to get to know the _Princess’s_ secret lover.”

 

Vlad shakes his head and chuckles as the blonde exits the room. Looking at Raven, he sees she still hasn’t recovered from all the teasing and Cassie finding him in her room. He walks over to her and gently blows on her ear, an action that sends a chill down Raven’s spine. She looks at him and is about to speak when he plants a kiss on her right cheek. She can feel her heart start to race and butterflies begin to form in her stomach.

 

“Could you please teleport me near the bookshop my dear?” he whispers in her ear, causing her to shudder. She nods and opens a portal behind him; he winks at her as he takes a step backwards into it.

 

When he vanishes from sight Raven lets out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding. Standing up she makes her way to the shower and turns on the cold water in an attempt to cool her body off. She rests her head against the shower wall as the cold water cascades down her naked form, letting out a sigh she wonders if Vlad will turn up in her room again tonight. Turning off the water she exits the shower and dries off, walking to her closet and grabbing her uniform she thinks about what Cassie said; secret lover. Sitting on her bed she pulls on her boots while wondering what the exact nature of her relationship with Vlad is. Looking at her phone she is tempted to text or call him, but decides against it; she wants to talk about it in person. Making up her mind to have Vlad come over tonight no matter what she heads down to meet up with Cyborg and get the patrol over with.

 

**With Vlad**

It only took Vlad three minutes to reach his apartment from the alley next to the bookshop. Once inside he heads to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast, which is just some heated up leftover Chinese food for the other day. Heading over to the fridge he look for something to drink, after a few seconds he speaks.

 

“You might as well come out; I don’t feel like playing hide and seek.” His words are met with a mirthful laugh; one Vlad is surprised to hear so soon. Turning to the source of the laugh, the space in front of his stove, Vlad is greeted by the sight of the air shimmering before revealing Ryzer leaning against the aforementioned appliance. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Want some food?”

 

“I’d love some.” Ryzer says, walking over to the island counter in the middle of the kitchen; Vlad takes in his appearance as he does. His outfit consists of black and dark orange Tripp pants, a tight black sweater with a jack-o-lantern on the front, and black boots. His hair manages to look even shaggier than last time. “I’m surprised you knew I was here, my stealth module erases all visibility, scent, temperature, and sound from my person. Interesting, some form of ‘sixth sense’, your list of abilities is continues to grow.”

 

“You have a list?” Vlad asks incredulously. Ryzer shakes his head while eating some rice.

 

“Someone else’s list, I merely made a copy. So far they have; Wind Manipulation, Fire Manipulation, unknown form of teleportation, physical abilities enhanced to an unknown degree, unknown method of ‘mass storage’, unknown physical enhancement ability, master swordsman, master martial artist, advanced strategist and tactician, explosives knowledge, and master of stealth.” Vlad raises an eyebrow at this; while incomplete the list is rather extensive considering how recently he entered this world. “That’s actually why I’m here. The person who made that list has taken an interest in you and is planning on launching an attack against you sometime in the next three days. Her name is Amanda Waller, she’s a royal bitch, but is force to be reckoned with. She’s a normal human and poses no real threat on her own. What makes her dangerous is her ruthlessness and willingness to use any means necessary.”

 

“She works for the government, runs a massive intelligence network, and has a group of highly dangerous villains under her command. This group, the Suicide Squad, is who will be coming for you.” Ryzer pulls a flash drive out of his pocket and slides it across the counter. “Here is all the information I have on the current lineup of the Suicide Squad. Also there’s no need to pay me, I have a vested interest in watching this bitch’s plans fail. I better take my leave, not really one for up in your face excitement; I prefer watching from a safe distance with some snacks and vodka.”

 

Sighing as Ryzer vanishes from the room, Vlad takes the flash drive and remaining Chinese food to the living room. As he plugs the flash drive into the laptop on the coffee table he wonders why some spymaster is targeting him. Pulling up the profiles he starts studying his new hunters.

 

Tatsu Yamashiro- Katana. Tatsu is a master swordsman and highly skilled hand to hand combatant; she possesses a strong drive and excellent leadership skills. Her weapon, the katana ‘Soul Taker’, steals the soul of its victims; her husband’s soul resides in the sword. She will take the position of Field Leader.

 

Floyd Lawton-Deadshot. ‘The man who never misses’ a lofty name, but one lived up to. The only know case of Deadshot missing is against Batman. Lawton is one of the two premier mercenaries in the world, with an impressive list of kills. An expert in all things the fire a bullet, Lawton’s accuracy, intelligence, and martial prowess allow him to go head to head with Metahumans with little to no threat to himself.

 

Chato Santana- El Diablo. Chato is a former gang leader and a Metahuman. He has the ability of pyrokinesis and an unexplained transformation ability. After causing the death of his family he swore off all violence and chose the life of a pacifist. Towards the end of the teams first mission he revoked his new views to aide his new ‘family’. Since then he has yet to refuse to use his abilities on a mission. As a whole he is probably the most powerful member of the team.

 

Waylon Jones- Killer Croc. Contrary to his appearance Jones is a human. His current state is not fully understood, but our scientists believe it to be something akin to physical Atavistic regression. His current state grants him superhuman physical abilities and extremely lethal fangs and claws. He is one of the two heavy hitters on the current team; the current limit of his strength is unknown, he is at least in the 2 ton range.

 

Nanaue- King Shark. Unknown origin and whether he is human or not is unknown. Nanaue possesses physical abilities slightly above Waylon Jones, with the addition of possessing an increased aquatic adaptation. He is one of the two heavy hitters of the current team.

 

Soul stealing sword, perfect accuracy, pyrokinesis, a humanoid crocodile, and a humanoid shark; what an interesting group, add the fact that they are all violent criminals with the inevitable interruption of an expanded Titans and this could get out of hand rather quickly. Picking up his phone, Vlad calls David.

 

“Hello?” David’s confused voice answers.

 

“Hello David, I have a job for you. There’s a group of five criminals coming to Jump, or are already here. Either way I want to arrange a little ‘greeting’ for them. If you can arrange said greeting I’ll pay you twenty-five thousand dollars, along with providing any funds needed for the arrangements. How does that sound?” After a brief silence David’s answers.

 

“It’ll take some money but I think I can do it. I still have some contacts within the various gangs around the city. How soon do you want it to be?”

 

“If possible tonight, I do hate to keep my guests waiting.” Vlad says with a large grin on his face.

 

**With Raven**

 

Raven is getting anxious, she hasn’t heard from Vlad since he left this morning and it’s almost five in the evening. She hasn’t texted or called him yet because she isn’t sure of what to say. She was hoping he’d take the lead like he normally does. The shrill whistle of her tea pot snatches her back to reality and she continues with her current task of making tea and a snack. Once done she heads over to one of the chairs in the common room and takes a seat. Instead of pulling out a book like normal she decides to observe her teammates, as she figures that it will provide a better distraction from her thoughts than reading would. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Kaldur are playing a racing game, Starfire and Cassie are talking about some show they both watch, and Robin is on the computer playing some MMO with Nightwing and Kid Flash.

 

Her observations are interrupted by an overwhelming sense of mischief rolling off of Cassie. Looking towards the blonde, Raven sees a devious smile on her face. Before Raven can attempt to intervene Cassie addresses her from the other side of the room.

 

“So Raven, how’s Vlad doing?” The words cause everyone to stop what they are doing and look at her. Things are made worse by Starfire unintentionally joining in on Cassie’s evil plan.

 

“Yes friend Raven, how is Vlad? It’s been a few days since I met him and you haven’t mentioned him to me.” The cheerful and curious tone of Star’s voice makes it impossible for Raven to get mad. The rest of the team is now basically gaping at the mouth. She even hears Robin the Nightwing and Kid Flash that he has to go. Before things can continue to get worse, the room is suddenly filled with music; Alien Ant Farm’s cover of Smooth Criminal to be exact, her ringtone for Vlad. Before she can thank the heavens for the saving grace however, she realizes she left her phone in the kitchen section of the room. Once again, before Raven can do anything Cassie acts. She rushes to the phone and answers it, putting it on speaker.

 

“Hello?” She says in a sweet tone. Raven’s blood runs cold, while Cassie and Kaldur have never fought Vlad, the rest of the Titans have.

 

“Who is this?” Relief washes over Raven when the voice that comes through the phone is slightly distorted by bad signal and strong wind. It does make he wonder where Vlad is though.

 

“Have you forgotten me already? How mean.” Cassie’s answer if filled with fake shock and hurt.

 

“Wait, is this Cassie? Where is Karasu-Hime?”

 

“It is and she’s a bit… tied up at the moment.” She answers with a small giggle. Vlad is silent for a few moments.

 

“You answer Karasu-Hime’s phone and say she is tied up. You two better not be having kinky bondage sex before I get to bless myself with her splendor.” A voice from his side calls out to him. “Tsk, I have to go dear. Now I understand the two of you are beautiful, young, and at an inquisitive age but I get Karasu-Hime first. You may join in afterwards if it is agreeable to her… oh the wondrous possibilities. Anyway, tell Karasu-Hime I called.”

 

With that he hangs up before Cassie can respond and Raven returns to being the center of attention. Cassie and Starfire both have large smile’s on their faces, Kaldur and Cyborg both look disturbed, Robin is laughing his ass off, and Beast Boy has a look that’s between anger and disgust. Through his laughter Robin is the first to speak.

 

“So, that’s your mysterious boyfriend huh?” As he calms down he sees the confused look on Raven’s face and decides to expand on his statement. “I knew you a boyfriend, I was trained in detective work by Batman, remember? I didn’t investigate him or anything though, I trust you enough not to pry into your private life.”

 

“Thank you.” She responds with a quiet voice. She was most worried about Robin and Cyborg finding out about Vlad. Robin because of the highly paranoid and judgmental nature of the Bat-family and Cyborg because his big brother personality and protectiveness. Kaldur is a bit ‘pure’, so his reaction is understandable.

 

“Glorious, now that the secret is out, you can work on furthering your relationship friend Raven.” Starfire says in a happy tone as she flies over to Raven and embraces her in a hug. The though of doing so fills Raven with joy and she returns the hug.

 

“Well shit!” Cyborg exclaims. “As much as I want to be angry, when I see that smile on your face I just can’t do it. Don’t think this means I am happy or agree, because I don’t. I still need to meet this pervert and give him a talking to-” Cyborg is interrupted by the towers alarm going off. The main screen switches from the video game to a map of the city. It is accompanied by several video streams. They all show a massive battle downtown. Robin rushes over to the computer.

 

“Fuck. At least a hundred various gang members are warring with what appears to be the Suicide Squad. We have to hurry, this is going to get bad quick.”


End file.
